Trial Set For Man Accused Of Stealing $40K In Cash From DMV

Trial set for man charged with stealing a bag containing $40,000 from DMV counter in Wethersfield

WETHERSFIELD — An East Hartford man accused of stealing about $40,000 in cash off a counter at the state Department of Motor Vehicles will soon go to trial.

Pretrial proceedings against Edgardo Casas, who faces a first-degree larceny charge, will begin May 21, according to court records. Casas has pleaded not guilty.

Police didn't make an arrest in the 2008 theft until February 2013 after a detective took a fresh look at the case.

On Oct. 28, 2008, Polish native Zbigniew Malecki went to the motor vehicles department in Wethersfield to register his car. Malecki and his wife had lived in Connecticut for many years and decided to retire to Poland, but had changed their minds and just returned.

In a bag, Malecki had about $40,000 in cash — his life savings — that he planned to take to the bank after registering his car. Malecki, however, forgot the bag, which also contained his American and Polish passports, on the counter. When he returned, it was gone. He immediately reported the theft to police

A Wethersfield detective identified Casas, who is in his late 50s, as a suspect after meticulously reviewing video surveillance footage and interviewing witnesses, according to an arrest affidavit. Police believe that Casas went to live in Puerto Rico for a time after the theft, the affidavit says.

Casas declined to speak to police without a lawyer present, court records say.

Malecki, 73, who lives in Southington with his wife, said this week that he'd still like the money back, but acknowledged that is unlikely.

"I pray every day for the money back," he said. "Maybe it will be fine, maybe it will not be."